New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 25th February 2022
Today's new releases include a tenth volume of Haydn sonatas from Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Mozart violin sonatas from Francesca Dego and Francesca Leonardi, Esa-Pekka Salonen's Cello Concerto from Nicolas Altstaedt and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, and Sebastián Durón's zarzuela Coronis from Le Poème Harmonique and Vincent Dumestre.
(An earlier version of this article included Anna Prohaska and La Folia Barockorchester's Celebration of Life in Death on Alpha Classics - we have been informed that this release has been delayed until 11th March).
The French pianist began his Haydn odyssey in 2010, with The Sunday Times greeting the first instalment as 'unadulterated bliss' and The Observer describing his interpretations (recorded on a modern concert-grand) as 'the best kind of historically alert piano playing'; this tenth volume features Sonatas Nos. 3, 4, 28, 45 and 60, plus the Arietta con 12 Variazioni, Hob. XVII: 3.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Following her widely acclaimed recording of Violin Concertos Nos. 3 & 4 with Sir Roger Norrington and the RSNO (which was praised in Gramophone for Dego's 'tonal purity, verve and an evident delight in the unexpected', and also included Violin Sonata No. 21 with Leonardi), the Italian violinist and her long-term recital-partner team up for Sonatas Nos. 18, 20, 22 and 32; Dego describes the latter as 'our very favourite sonata' thanks to its 'simplicity and flamboyance'.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Dutch Hidden Gems
Dana Zemtsov (viola), Anna Fedorova (piano), Phion, Orchestra of Gelderland & Overijssel, Shizuo Kuwahara
This programme of music from twentieth-century Holland comprises Henk Badings's Concerto for Viola and String Orchestra & Sonata for Viola and Piano, Arne Werkman's Pavane for Viola and String Orchestra, Jan Koetsier's Concertino for Viola and Orchestra (which receives its world premiere recording here), and Henriëtte Hilda Bosmans's Arietta for Viola and Piano.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Following their well-received survey of Mendelssohn's string quartets (which was described as 'magnificent' by Gramophone and applauded by BBC Music Magazine for the 'precision and wealth of detail in the colouring and phrasing'), the Dorics team up with BBC New Generation Artist and Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition-winner Ridout for the two String Quintets, composed in 1832 and 1845 respectively.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
For his debut on Pentatone, the Canadian pianist presents the same programme which Vladimir Horowitz performed at his legendary 1986 Moscow concert, viewed by Wanda Toscanini Horowitz as the summit of her husband's career: the bill of fare includes three Scarlatti sonatas, Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 10 in C, and music by Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Moszkowski, Scriabin and Rachmaninoff.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
'Strongly recommended' in the latest edition of Gramophone, the Kyrgyz soprano's recital with Trio Gaspard comprises excerpts from Beethoven's 23 Songs of Various Nationalities, Shostakovich's Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok, Weinberg’s Jewish Songs, and vocalises by Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Gubaidulina and Auerbach; at the heart of the programme is Shostakovich's Piano Trio No. 1 from the Gaspards.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Salonen & Ravel
Nicolas Altstaedt (cello), Pekka Kuusisto (violin), Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Dima Slobodeniouk
Written for Yo-Yo Ma in 2017, Salonen's Cello Concerto received its Finnish premiere with Altstaedt (under the composer’s direction) later that year; the work was described by The New York Times as 'restive, cosmic and formidably difficult', whilst New York Classical Review observed that it 'continually surprised and delighted the ear with fresh sounds'. It's coupled here with Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello, which Altstaedt and Kuusisto have been performing together regularly since 2010.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The Norwegian Baroque ensemble team up with Marianne Beate Kielland to explore the development of the lament form in Italian baroque music, including an aria from Cesti's L’argia, Benedetto Ferrari's cantata Queste pungenti spine, Merula's Hor ch'è il tempo di dormire, Sances's Pianto della Madonna, and instrumental works by Frescobaldi, Mealli, Rossi, Leonarda, Uccellini and Kapsberger.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Incorrectly attributed to Sebastián Durón's contemporary Antonio Literes until 2009, this zarzuela (composed in 1705 and performed before Philip V of Spain) received its first modern staging just three years ago, and was revived at the Opéra Comique last week; the plot centres on the eponymous nymph and her escape from the monster Triton, with sopranos taking on all of the roles apart from that of the seer Proteus (sung here by French tenor Cyril Auvity).
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
This is the first commercial album of music by the British composer, whose radio and TV work includes soundtracks for Hedda Gabler and The Winter's Tale and music for BBC nature documentaries. The album takes the form of a musical lockdown-journal exploring the cycle of life, with the central work Contemplation Suite focusing on 'the changing of light and dark in the day and its effect on our circadian rhythms'.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann
Benjamin Bernheim (tenor), Olga Peretyatko (soprano), Luca Pisaroni (bass-baritone), Chor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, Kent Nagano
Released to mark the 200th anniversary of ETA Hoffmann's death, this production was filmed in Hamburg last autumn, with Olga Peretyatko taking on all four soprano roles and Luca Pisaroni sing the four villains; Bernheim was hailed as 'tenor perfection' by Süddeutsche Zeitung at the premiere, whilst Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung applauded the 'fairytale theatre magic' of Daniele Finzi Pasca's new production.
Available Format: DVD Video
Mozart: Don Giovanni
Erwin Schrott (Don Giovanni), Roberto Tagliavini (Leporello), Malin Byström (Donna Anna), Myrtò Papatanasiu (Donna Elvira), Daniel Behle (Don Ottavio), Louise Alder (Zerlina), Petros Magoulas (Il Commendatore), Leon Košavic (Masetto); Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Hartmut Haenchen, Kasper Holten
Filmed at Covent Garden in 2019, this revival of Kasper Holten's Escher-inspired 2014 production was described as 'a stunning evening' in The Independent thanks to its 'ideal cast' and in particular the 'definitive pairing' of Schrott and Tagliavini as master and servant; BachTrack, meanwhile, praised Alder's 'sweet-toned, crystal clear Zerlina', Byström's 'commanding, even-toned' Donna Anna, and Sherratt's 'resonant, dignified' Commendatore.
Available Format: DVD Video
Katherine Cooper - Head of Editorial
